Forever Yours (Nebraska Series Book 9)

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  She began rocking her hips, and he leaned his head back on the couch and got caught up in the moment. Since breaking his leg, he’d gotten good about staying still while she made love to him, and there were times when he preferred to stay still because it prolonged the pleasure of lovemaking, and when it was prolonged, his release was much more intense. This time was no different. When the moment came, he let out a soft cry and spilled his seed into her. She held onto him as waves of pleasure crashed into him. It felt so wonderful; so very wonderful.

  Slowly, he descended back to earth, and he could think clearly again. Mary was kissing his jaw and his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her closer to him so he could kiss her in return.

  After a while, she straightened up and smiled down at him. “I don’t suppose you’d like to continue this upstairs on a more comfortable surface?”

  He returned her smile. “Well, I do owe you for last night. I shall keep going until you’re completely satisfied.”

  She giggled. “In that case, I’m not completely satisfied yet.”

  “We need to rectify that at once.” He gave her waist a playful squeeze. “Lead the way to the bedroom.”

  Giggling again, she did just that.

  Chapter Thirteen

  A couple days later, Dave had to take a break from his chores since his leg was bothering him. He had wanted to keep cleaning out the stalls, but he’d already fed the animals and put them out to pasture.

  With a frustrated sigh, he set the rake aside and left the barn. He hated this. He just wanted to do all of the chores like he was supposed to. But it seemed that he was constantly taking breaks during the day, and it took about a half hour before he was able to get back to work.

  He plopped down in the chair on the porch and put his leg up.

  Isaac, who was carrying a bucket of water, came up to the porch and set the bucket down by his feet. “Are you tired?”

  “No,” Dave replied. “My leg is hurting, so I had to stop for a while.”

  “What were you doing?”

  “I was cleaning out the stalls after feeding the animals.”

  “Do you want me to clean out the stalls so you don’t have to?”

  Pleased by the offer, he said, “That’s very nice of you to suggest, but this is a chore better left to someone who’s older.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the rake is heavy, and you have to make sure you get all of the horse and cow droppings out of the barn. It requires a lot of lifting and throwing.” He paused. “You’ve seen me clean out stalls before.”

  “Yes, and it looks easy.”

  “I’m not saying it’s not easy. It is easy. All you’re doing is cleaning, but it’s not the same kind of cleaning your ma does in the kitchen where you can wipe something with a cloth. It’s requires more strength.”

  “Do you like doing it?”

  “I don’t mind it,” Dave said. “It’s nice when the animals can be in a clean stall. Can you imagine if you had to live in a bedroom with all that filth?”

  “I smell Adam when he needs a diaper change. It’s not good.”

  Dave chuckled. “No, it’s not. It’s nice when Ma puts him in a clean diaper, isn’t it?”

  Isaac nodded.

  “I’m sure the animals like it when they have their stalls cleaned out,” Dave said. As an afterthought, he added, “Adam prefers to be in a clean diaper, too.”

  “Why do babies have to wear diapers? Why can’t they just go in the outhouse like the rest of us do?”

  Dave grinned at the boy’s questions. “For one, babies are tiny. There’s no way they could get up on the seat in the outhouse. Two, they can’t sit or walk right away. They need time to build up their strength to do those things.”

  “But Adam can sit and walk, and he can climb on the seat in the outhouse.”

  “Yes, and your ma will start working with him on going in the outhouse pretty soon, but she’ll need to teach him what to do. She might even ask for your help now that you’re old enough to do it.”

  He grimaced. “Do I have to help? Can’t Rachel do it since she’s with Ma all the time?”

  “You’re a boy. You’ll be able to show him what to do better than she can.”

  “Why?”

  “You have the same parts.”

  “What parts does Rachel have that I don’t?”

  Right away, Dave wished he hadn’t gone so far into the conversation. He shifted in the chair as he tried to figure a way out of the hole he’d just dug himself into. He’d known it was only a matter of time before he had to have a talk with his son about this kind of thing, but Isaac was only nine.

  Finally, he settled for telling his son, “I’ll explain it to you when you’re older.”

  Isaac didn’t hide his disappointment. “How much older?”

  “Older than you are now.”

  “I know that, but what age will I be when you can tell me?”

  “I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it.”

  “When did Grandpa tell you about the parts boys and girls have?”

  “He didn’t. He let me figure it out for myself.”

  “And how did you do that?”

  Dave had expected the conversation to get easier, so why did it seem to be getting more difficult? “I don’t know. I just did.” He shrugged. “As you get older, you naturally piece things together. But you have to be older to do that, and right now, you’re still too young.” He glanced at the pail of water by Isaac’s feet. “You should take that in to your ma before she starts looking for you.”

  He sighed and picked up the bucket. “I didn’t think you were going to answer my questions.”

  “I will when you’re older, and part of knowing what age is right depends on how mature you are. I won’t make you figure it out like my pa did.”

  Isaac seemed to feel better after hearing the promise. Dave relaxed as he went into the house with the pail. That was close. Never mind Isaac being older. Dave needed to be older! But he would do it, and he would do it with each of his sons because he wanted them all to know there was more to a woman than making love to her. It would be a delicate balance, but it was one he would figure out. He just wasn’t ready to do that today. Plus, Isaac and Adam would benefit more from it when they were ready to court anyway.

  The front door opened, and Mary stepped onto the porch. Dave shot her a worried look. Had Isaac told her they were discussing things of a personal nature? Sure, he hadn’t told Isaac anything, but did Isaac let her know that?

  He was ready to say that he could explain everything when she pulled up a chair next to him and said, “I have good news.”

  He relaxed. So, Isaac hadn’t gone in there and told her what they’d been talking about. That was a relief. “What’s the good news?”

  “You know how you’ve been thinking that you didn’t accomplish anything while you were stuck in this chair all day for the past couple of months?”

  “I wouldn’t say I didn’t accomplish anything. I frustrated you a couple of times because I was bored.”

  She smiled at the teasing tone in his voice. “Granted, you were bored a lot because you couldn’t do the chores around here, but I didn’t mind it.”

  “Mary, you’re a saint, but even you have to admit there were times when you were frustrated with me. Remember how much I annoyed you because I didn’t want to read a book?”

  “Alright. I didn’t understand why you couldn’t find something worth reading out of all the books people had brought over, but it wasn’t like you were making me wait on you hand and foot. Some husbands would have done that. Sally told me about a few of them who did that to their wives, and some weren’t even injured. I consider myself very lucky to be married to you.”

  “Good because I feel the same way. So, what’s the good news?”

  “I’m going to have a baby.”

  “Did you tell Isaac?”

  Her eyebrows furrowed in surprise. “No. Not yet. Why would y
ou ask that?”

  “It’s not important. We’ll just wait for a few more days before telling the children.” By then, Isaac should have forgotten all about the differences between men and women, and Dave wouldn’t have to try to wiggle his way out of explaining how babies were made or why Mary could have a baby while he couldn’t. He scooted closer to her and kissed her. “It’s wonderful news, Mary.”

  She beamed at him. “I thought you’d like to hear it. I didn’t realize it until after breakfast when I was checking the calendar. With everything that’s been going on, I barely have time to keep track of the days.”

  “Hasn’t it been that way for you ever since Isaac was born?”

  “It wasn’t so bad after he was born, but after Rachel came along, I have been forgetting to keep track of things.”

  “From sunup to sundown, all of us keep you busy. It’s amazing you even have time for everything.”

  “I love it, Dave. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” She kissed him. “We have a good life here together.”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “Don’t touch that!” Rachel yelled from inside the house.

  This was followed by a loud thud. Then Adam started to cry.

  “Great,” Isaac yelled over Adam’s shrill cries. “Now you made him cry.”

  “Well,” Dave began as Mary got up, “most of the time, it’s good around here.”

  Shooting him an amused smile, she hurried back into the house.

  Poor Mary. He didn’t know how she managed to juggle everything. He’d much rather be outside. A lot of the times, the animals were easier to handle than a room full of children. But within seconds of returning to the house, she was able to calm everyone down.

  He stood up and tested his leg. It was doing much better now.

  Isaac ran out of the house. He saw Dave and shook his head. “It’s a mess in there. Ma said I could help by being outside.” His nose scrunched up. “How can I help by being out here?”

  Dave chuckled. “I think Ma does best if she has less of us to keep track of. Want to help me clean stalls? I think I have a smaller rake somewhere. Afterwards, we can take the horses into the cornfields and see how things are going.”

  Isaac’s eyes lit up. “You think I’m strong enough?”

  “You are to help me out.”

  “Where’s the smaller rake?”

  “It’s close to that bird you rescued. Look in the left corner of the barn.”

  Isaac bolted on ahead of him. Dave shook his head in amusement. Isaac still had a couple more years before Dave would send him to clean the stalls on his own, and by then, Isaac might not have this kind of enthusiasm for that particular chore. He recalled grumbling a few times when it was his turn to clean the stalls while he was growing up. But it was like anything else on the farm. One had to take the good with the bad, and in the end, if one learned to have a good attitude, everything went faster.

  He didn’t know if Isaac would go on to become a farmer. He might want to build houses and buildings like Richard. Dave figured he should take advantage of the time he had with Isaac while Isaac was still living at home. Then, as Adam got older, he would do the same with him. He figured Rachel would take after Mary. If the next one was a boy, he’d be able to take him around to do the chores. If the next one was a girl, she’d stay indoors and help out Mary and Rachel.

  He blinked as he considered how old Isaac, Rachel, and Adam already were. Now he could appreciate why his parents always commented that time passed too fast. It wouldn’t be long before they left home and started having families of their own. He supposed, at that point, he had grandchildren to look forward to, but he’d rather not think that far yet. He’d rather enjoy the present and make the most of the time he had while his children were still young.

  Whistling, he joined Isaac for the chores.

  ***

  Dave woke up the next morning to pain shooting down his leg. With a grimace, he sat up and pushed back the blanket so he could look at it.

  “Is something wrong?” Mary asked as she turned from the dresser where she’d been brushing her hair.

  He inspected his leg. It looked alright. None of the bones looked out of place. He ran his hands up and down the leg to make sure everything felt alright. Thankfully, everything felt fine.

  “I did too much work yesterday, and my leg has no trouble letting me know it.” He shifted so that both feet were on the floor. He let out a heavy sigh. “I might have to spend the day in that stupid chair again.”

  She offered him a sympathetic smile. “I wondered if you were pushing yourself too hard.” She grabbed the cane from the doorway and brought it over to him.

  He accepted it. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use this anymore.”

  She sat next to him and rubbed his shoulder. “You’re a hard worker, Dave. It’s one of your best qualities, but if you don’t learn to be patient with yourself, you’re going to end up doing more damage to that leg, and then you’ll have an even longer time to wait before you’re back to normal.”

  “I know, but it’s hard to sit around and do nothing. I feel like I’m wasting my life away.”

  “If you sat around and did nothing all the time, then I would say yes, you’re wasting your life away. But, Dave, you’re not like that. You keep just as busy as I do. You take care of everything outside, and I take care of everything inside the house. We make a good team. I don’t mind doing a few things outside while you’re getting better. I know it’s only temporary. I’ll take care of the animals today instead of making a pie. It’ll be fine.”

  He shook his head. “I’d rather have you making the pie. Especially if it’s the apple one.”

  She chuckled and kissed his cheek. “Today, you’ll have to settle for the cookies Rachel and I made the other day. But this is a good reason why you should take breaks as soon as your leg gives you problems. Just tell yourself that if you’re good today with your leg, there’s a good chance you can have a fresh apple pie tomorrow.”

  “Yes, I suppose that will work.” He tried not to grumble as he answered her, but he wasn’t successful.

  “You’ll be fine. Fortunately, the harvest is coming up soon, and after that, you won’t have so much to do. Then you won’t be tempted to keep pushing yourself.”

  He hadn’t considered that. “I wish I had broken my leg right before winter. Now I’ll not only have wasted most of the summer, but I’ll waste the winter, too.” If it weren’t for knowing he had the animals to tend to all year long, he just might go insane.

  “I’m sure we can find some things for you to paint or fix around the place. You can make up for this summer. I know! I can teach you how to preserve some of the food to put in the cellar.”

  “We’ve been married for ten years. Have I ever given you a reason to think I want to learn how to do that?”

  She laughed and rubbed his back again. “I was joking. I know you don’t like to cook. It’s why you married me.”

  “It’s not the only reason, but I admit it was a huge one.”

  Since her laughter had helped to lighten the mood, he felt a little better. She was right. He needed to be patient while his leg fully recovered from the fall.

  He put his arm around her waist and gave it a playful squeeze. “Alright. I think I’m ready to spend all day sitting on the porch.”

  Using the cane, he stood up and went to the dresser to get his clothes so he could get ready for the day.

  Once he was on the porch, he set the cane next to him and waited as Mary got the children ready for the day. She would come out to milk the cow and feed the animals when she was done. Then she would get breakfast ready. Sadly, the most he could do was sit and watch. Well, he might be able to help her get the children to do a chore, but that was it. The day, for the most part, was going to be a long one.

  Isaac was the first one to come out of the house, which wasn’t a surprise since he was the oldest child. “Ma said you’re not feeling well.”

  �
��My leg is bothering me,” he replied. “I have to stay off of it all day.”

  “Why?”

  “If I don’t, then I won’t be able to do any of the chores tomorrow. It’s bad enough that I can’t do them today.”

  “You like to work, don’t you?”

  Dave nodded. “It gives me something to do.”

  “But you like what you’re doing. Uncle Richard likes his job. You like yours.”

  “Yes, we both like our jobs.”

  “Uncle Richard said he likes to create houses. He draws them before they’re built. He said he enjoys planning how they’ll look. Why do you like working here?”

  “Well,” Dave began, “for one, I’m not good at designing a house. I don’t have much of an imagination for things like that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You have to come up with how the house is going to look before you draw it. Then you have to figure out how big each room should be, where to put the stairs, and how to place each room so it all fits together in a rectangular shape. Then you have to know what you need to make the house.” Now that Dave thought about it, Richard did do a lot of work. “Your uncle was the one who designed this house. Mary told him what she wanted, and, like magic, he created it. I couldn’t do that. The best I ever did was a little sod house with two awkwardly shaped rooms. One was bigger than the other, and once in a while, I had to patch it up. Do you remember that house?”

  Isaac nodded. “A little.”

  “So you know how much better this one is than what I made. I can see why you admire your uncle.”

  “This house is nicer,” Isaac replied. “But I think you do more than Uncle Richard does.”

  Surprised, Dave asked, “You do?”

  “You get up early, and you spend all day working. Uncle Richard said he goes to work at eight and is home at five. He also doesn’t work on Saturday or Sunday. You work every day. Uncle Richard draws houses and lets other people build them. You take care of animals every day. You fix things when they’re broken. You help Ma with her garden and carry a lot of heavy things. You take me out to the fields when you check on the crops. Sometimes you go outside in the middle of the night or when it’s snowing to take care of an animal. And Ma says you never complain about any of it. You do what needs to be done, even when you don’t get to rest.”